Study of Plasmid Profile and Determination of Antibiotic Resistance Genes of Pseudomonas Spp. Isolated from Biofilms and Urine

Abstract

Abstract : A total of four hundred and twenty seven clinical samples were collected, these included, 83 catheter biofilm samples, 113 catheter urine samples and 231 midstream urine samples taken from patients suffering from urinary tract infections (UTI) . From these samples, 44 isolates of Pseudomonas were isolated, 30 isolates were isolated from biofilms, of these 25 isolates were P. aeruginosa and 5 isolates were P. fluorescens . While the Pseudomonas which isolated from urine were 14 isolates, of these 8 isolates were P.aeruginosa and 6 isolates were P. fluorescens. The isolates were identified depending on their morphological properties and biochemical tests . These isolates exhibited different abilities to produce the blue–green pigment, pyocyanin, (61.36%), yellowish–green pigment, pyoveridin (36.36%) and brown or black pigment, pyomelanin, (2.27%). The results revealed that 41 isolates from total isolates ( 93.18% ) produced the capsule . Some of the isolates possessed on one of iron providing systems due to the production of siderophore ( 43.2% ) or haemolysin (56.8%) and showed different abilities to produce the protease (20.5% ) and urease ( 52.3% ) enzymes. Twenty seven antibiotics were tested against these isolates, using disk diffusion method . The imipenem and meropenem were the most effective antibiotics on biofilm isolates, while the amikacin and imipenem were the most effective on urine isolates. The agarose gel electrophoresis of whole DNA of 7 biofilm isolates and 10 urine isolates exhibited that these isolates harboured on one or two plasmid bands or plasmidless. The genes responsible for resistance of antibiotics were located on the plasmid or the chromosome, these were confirmed by the data obtained from curing experiments